All Saints Messenger May 10, 2018

This Sunday's entire reading from the Gospel of John is part of a prayer made by a son to his father. Jesus is going down the checklist, as if his father had asked whether he had completed the chores that were assigned. I've made your name known, Abba. The words you gave me, I gave to them. I protected them. Jesus, like any human son, is assuring his beloved father that his duties have been accomplished. But it's verse 13, speaking of his joy, that highlights his humanity and endears him to me even more.

Happiness, delight, pleasure--his innermost feeling is revealed, giving us a sense of what he has endured. Unspoken are the years away from his father, the yearning to be back where he belongs, the self-discipline required to be faithful in all things, the intensity of his love. Reunion pictures whiz through my mind; like children running on the tarmac to a returning military dad, or an immigrant son crying with joy as he is united with his absent father once again.

Lord of all joy, with a grateful heart I praise and thank you for loving me so much in spite of the cost demanded of you. Grant me courage for the living of my days as you lived yours. Amen.